David Jones, artist and poet (1895-1974) begins his PREFACE TO THE ANATHEMATA :

'I have made a heap of all that I could find.' (1) So wrote Nennius, or whoever composed the introductory matter to Historia Brittonum. He speaks of an 'inward wound' which was caused by the fear that certain things dear to him 'should be like smoke dissipated'. Further, he says, 'not trusting my own learning, which is none at all, but partly from writings and monuments of the ancient inhabitants of Britain, partly from the annals of the Romans and the chronicles of the sacred fathers, Isidore, Hieronymous, Prosper, Eusebius and from the histories of the Scots and Saxons although our enemies . . . I have lispingly put together this . . . about past transactions, that [this material] might not be trodden under foot'. (2)

(1) The actual words are coacervavi omne quod inveni, and occur in Prologue 2 to the Historia.(2) Quoted from the translation of Prologue 1. See The Works of Gildas and Nennius, J.A.Giles, London 1841.

10 December 2009

Awoke with a headache, the gift-side of which provided clear recall of a splendid dream. The final scene took place at a railway station where, having remembered I could fly, and begun to do so, looked back to see others, higher, already doing the same.

Arrived at the Ballan railway station a few hours later. From the ten directions we came. For the Ballarat train to Melbourne, to the 20th anniversary celebration of the Dalai Lama being awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace.

At Ballan station, this sign.

Happiness is not a state to arrive at,But a manner of travelling.- Margaret Lee Runbeck

And with stops along the way at Sunshine and Deer Park?(It was at Deer Park, Sarnath, India, that Buddha, after his enlightenment, gave his first teaching : The Four Noble Truths. Can't travel through Deer Park, Victoria, without recalling that.)

Fly Trans Love Railways?Ancient memories arise of Eric Burdon & The Animals' San Franciscan Nights (1967), still somewhere here in a bL heap. It begins with an announcement :

This following program is dedicated to the city and people of San Francisco (and Melbourne), who may not know it but they are beautiful and so is their city. This is a very personal song, so if the viewer cannot understand it, particularly those of you who are European residents, save up all your brand and fly Trans Love Airways to San Francisco, U.S.A. (or to Melbourne, Australia), then maybe you'll understand the song, it will be worth it, if not for the sake of this song but for the sake of your own peace of mind.

for the sake of your own peace of mind.His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been touringand teaching in Australia and New Zealandfor the past two weeks. He has been a regular visitor to Melbourne over many years. Yesterday morning there was a gathering (Peace Through Justice) to celebrate his 20th anniversary of receiving the Nobel Prize for Peace. In the afternoon, at the Melbourne Convention Centre, he spoke to the topic World Peace - Who is responsible?

'Last talk before exhaustion', he chuckled at the start.

Later, in a Q&A session, he briefly addressed this again : 'because body, speech and mind are dedicated to all beings, therefore no mental tiredness, even in these busy times'.

As he has done before, the Dalai Lama told us of his favorite prayer, from “A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life” by Shantideva.

For as long as space remains,For as long as sentient beings remain,Until then may I too remainTo dispel the miseries of the world.

07 December 2009

The sleeve of The Beatles' so called white album (1968) is not blank, it's white, and embossed with the title : THE BEATLES. White image, white text.

There's a detailed presentation about THE BEATLES. album sleeve at beatlesagain.com The album's working title was A Doll's House and a colourful sleeve was prepared to illustrate this idea.Perhaps this is why Peter Atkins has embossed his Shilo album sleeve THE BEATLES.

From white to blank to black and back : the Slave Guitars of the Art Cult (1981) break-through album Only Blank Minds.

Just as THE BEATLES. (1968) became known as The White Album so also with Only Blank Minds. The black-on-black of its Black Square (in Slave Guitar) spinning across the black square of the sleeve has it now often referred to as this band's black album. Sometimes it is known as the blank album since, after-Cage, there were no tracks listed, no spiral scratched, no identifiable Music given. Anti-Music historians like to write it as the bla_k album, to indicate it's multivalent and/but ultimately unfixed character.

At the opening of The Shilo Project exhibition

Chris McAuliffe read an extract from the new edition of Vincent Van Gogh's letters, from an 1884 letter to his brother Theo.

You don't know how paralysing it is, that stare from a blank canvas that says to the painter, you can't do anything. The canvas has an idiotic stare, and mesmerises some painters so that they turn into idiots themselves.

Many painters are afraid in front of the blank canvas, but the blank canvas is afraid of the real, passionate painter who dares - and who has broken the spell of 'you can't'.

Vincent wrote most of these letters in Dutch; one third in French; just ten in English. We note this in relation to the earlier comments about white/blank blanc/blanc con-fusion and more generally in puzzling about that curious Western spectre the terrorising void, the imaginary malevolent physical psychological exhaustively empty space ] where no-one can hear you scream [ as you struggle to bridge the one dot (I) to an other (I/not I)

detail A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/someone looks at something . . .

LOGOS/HA HA

05 December 2009

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A day in Melbourne yesterday to catch up on some exhibitions. Stephen Bram (downstairs) and Stieg Persson (upstairs) a great pairing at Anna Schwartz Gallery. Fellow former student of RMIT Media Arts, Sam Smith's grand Synthetics at Arc One Gallery. John Warwicker's FLOATING WORLD: UKIYO-E at The Narrows. The West Space Fun_raiser (7 of the 8 bLotters had already sold) then off to The Shilo Project big she-bang at the Ian Potter Museum.

Between West Space and the Potter, in the last light of day, one street photo. Traditional.

This morning, in an image heap from E of the O, this classic set-up: home territory of LOGOS/HA HA. Thoughts of Las Meninas and the interpretive diagrams of scholars. Starting with

YOU ARE HERE

detail A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/ someone looks at something . . .

2. stamp the knowing Title once more upon the edgeless Mirror of the World3. blot this onto verso of the envious regard4. edition (A/P and 8/8), sign(P.T.) and date (-2009-)5. price ($100 ea) with thanks to Anna Schwartz Gallery

( click image to enlarge )

detailA Person Looks At A Work Of Art/someone looks at something . . .

01 December 2009

Over the last month or so the Australian Federal Opposition,aka The Coalition (of the Liberal Party and the National Party minority), under the influence of their substantial component of Climate Change Deniers & Sceptics, have been tearing themselves apart. This is how senior political commentator Michelle Grattan described the situation in yesterday's THE AGE (Melbourne):

The Liberal Party is a madhouse. Malcolm Turnbull amazed even the Turnbull sceptics by his wild performance yesterday.

Turnbull unleashed appeared to many Liberals Turnbull unhinged, as he vented his considerable capacity for wrath against Senate leader Nick Minchin, now cast as the devil by his leader but quite popular in party ranks.

Turnbull would have better stayed in bed, rather than appear with Laurie Oakes. His support went further backwards.

The party is now set on installing Joe Hockey whether he likes it or not.

The formula is that once there is a spill motion, a ''challenge'' - which Hockey says he won't make - is not really a ''challenge''. Hockey seems ready to don this fig leaf, to everyone's relief.

The chaos appears headed to a fix that involves Hockey for leader, Peter Dutton for deputy, Tony Abbott for shadow treasurer...

All commentators warned that today's leadership spill result was unpredictable. Which is indeed how it turned out, with all best bets arse about and Tony Abbott elected leader. Here's how another senior political AGE journalist, Tony Wright, described Abbott several days ago :

Tony Abbott, long known as the Mad Monk, transmogrified into a vision of the Grim Reaper as he swung through Malcolm Turnbull's office yesterday afternoon.

Those who have met him on a rugby field or a boxing ring know there is much of the ascetic warrior in the Abbott.

Malcolm Turnbull is a physically solid fellow, too, and no wilting flower. He would prove it within hours with a fighting performance of a news conference, declaring himself still the leader of the Liberal Party and vowing that his party would deliver on its emissions trading deal with the Rudd Government, whomever may try to deny him.

But he was outnumbered when the Grim Reaper strode into his bunker mid-afternoon. Abbott was accompanied by another of the austere in the utterly fractured Liberal congregation: Senator Nick Minchin, Liberal leader in the Senate and veteran of a hundred factional stoushes and Liberal crises.

They were on a mission. They were about to try to nail their leader to a cross they were convinced he had built for himself.

Abbott learned a bit about missions during his time in the seminary as a young man, and he was a champion debater, but he can use his fists when his blood is up.